Expert sees over 90% likelihood of Ukraine avoiding total blackout this winter

Ukraine has a high chance of maintaining the integrity of its power system throughout winter, despite Russian missile and drone strikes.

That’s according to Volodymyr Omelchenko, chief of energy programs at Razumkov Center, who spoke at a press conference hosted by the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center on Thursday.

"The chances that the power system will maintain its integrity, even if Russian strikes continue, are very high this winter. The likelihood that there will be no blackout is much higher than 90%, from my point of view," Omelchenko said.

The expert believes that the deficit in the energy system can be partially covered by increasing the European electricity imports cap.

In addition, Omelchenko emphasized the need to focus on restoring generating capacities wherever it is possible. According to his estimates, this is about 1.5-2 GW worth of electricity.

As reported reported earlier, referring to the assessment by NEC Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s power system needs 5-6 GW worth of generation of various types, while businesses could build up 1 GW of capacity.